With more than 75,000 terminals now operating across Australia, and 41 different apps, Albert is helping businesses deliver an improved customer experience in an increasingly online, mobile and connected world.
Cash is losing dominance as a means of payment with customers increasingly tapping their cards or phones. Customers now often want to split their bill at the table, make payments for items on the shop floor, have their tickets delivered straight to their phones, and receipts sent directly to their email address. And business owners want to streamline their processes so they can put greater focus on their customers. Step in Albert.
“We launched Albert two years ago to transform the customer experience so businesses can better meet the expectations of increasingly tech-savvy customers,” said Michael Eidel, Executive General Manager Cash-flow and Transaction Services.
“Albert remains Australia’s only smart EFTPOS terminal which connects to an open developer platform, allowing an increasing number of developers to create new apps that respond to a range of business and customer needs.
“Our open platform and increasing relationships with developers creating new and exciting apps sets Albert apart from the competition, and we need to ensure our customers are aware of the enormous potential this payment device has for businesses.”
For instance:
- Business owners can generate staff rosters and timesheet automatically using an app called Tanda, which tells them what their busiest times are and when they need more staff.
- Coffee shops can go cashless with Kounta, a revolutionary point-of-sale system.
- Theme parks and transport services can issue tickets to people from one device with the Roller Payments app.
There are 15 new apps in the pipeline including a partnerships with local and international Point of Sale providers. Just think back to the launch of the iPhone before developers created the diverse range of apps we use today. On CommBank’s Albert, developers are creating apps that respond to the customer service challenges of tomorrow.
Saving time and money for business owners: Tanda workforce app
Start-up Tanda created an app to improve the way business can manage their staffing and rostering.
Liam Scanlan of Tanda said: “Many managers aren’t good at making staff rosters. With more than 50 per cent of businesses still using a paper roster system, they can be incredibly time consuming.”
The Tanda app on Albert connects to a dashboard that brings in an enormous amount of customer data so managers can easily coordinate rosters to their business requirements. Rosters are then pushed out to staff to their mobile phone or email.
Albert can record employees clocking in and out for their shifts and the data is then exported into the payroll system, generating a timesheet so staff and managers can be confident that staff and being paid correctly.
“We want to enhance the app to create rosters automatically for managers based on their business data, including customer demand, labour need, staff availability and the different costs of individual staff members. Imagine an app that knew how busy your business was and could recommend a roster for you,” said Liam Scanlan, Director at Tanda.
Helping business change: Albert helps SeaLink innovate
CommBank also partners with businesses looking to develop customised apps to solve their own individual business problems.
For example, the simple act of selling a ferry ticket once involved up to four devices for the staff at SeaLink. But with more than 30 coaches and a 72-strong fleet of commuter and leisure vessels - from paddlewheel cruise ships on the Murray, sand barges in Queensland, and water taxi and leisure cruises in Sydney and Perth - smooth and speedy ticketing is essential to their business.
With a bespoke app developed for Albert, SeaLink staff can now do everything with the one device, and gone are the days of a multi-step ticketing process. Ticket selection, printing and payment are now all combined in Albert, which means staff are now free to sell tickets away from fixed kiosks. Customers get a better, more flexible experience, leading to greater customer satisfaction and, ultimately, increased revenue for SeaLink.